Facebook-owner Meta Platforms on Monday (June 16) launched Meta Quest+, which is a subscription-based service for its virtual reality headsets. The step is likely to shape a nascent but high-investment market. The announcement was made by Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg. He announced on a broadcast channel on Instagram that a Meta Quest+ subscription will be available from Monday at USD 7.99 per month. If a subscriber wishes to avail annual subscription, he/she will have to pay an annual fee of USD 59.99.
The subscription is for Quest 2,Pro and soon-to-be-launched Quest 3 headsets.
Apple has recently launched its first augmented reality headset and made a foray into the market segment. The Apple Vision Pro has been priced at USD 3499. Apple’s headset is three times the cost of the costliest headset from Meta.
In the month of March this year, Meta cut the price of its headsets as its bold plans of metaverse have as yet failed to make a big splash.
Currently, Meta’s flagship VR headset Meta Quest Pro is priced at USD 999.99. It is lesser than its launch price of USD 1499.99. Quest 2 is being sold for USD 299.99. The prices are mentioned on Meta’s website.
Virtual reality headsets are widely considered to be the next big thing but the adoption has so far been limited to the gaming community. The situation persists in spite of the devices now having more advanced features. BBC reported that for the first three months of the year, Meta’s virtual reality unit saw a loss of USD 4 billion.
Last year, Meta announced several artificial intelligence projects. Zuckerberg had described AI as “the key to unlocking the metaverse”. Meta has reported a profit of USD 5.7 billion for the first three months of the year. But Meta’s virtual reality division is reportedly struggling as of now.
Zuckerberg not impressed with Apple Vision Pro
Earlier this month, Zuckerberg dismissed Apple Vision Pro as he spoke with his employees, according to reports in US media. He reportedly said that Apple’s mixed reality gear may be nice but it may not be his vision of the future.
“I mean, that could be the vision of the future of computing, but like, it’s not the one that I want,” Zuckerberg reportedly said while assessing what he has seen of Apple Vision Pro.
“There’s a real philosophical difference in terms of how we’re approaching this.”
“Our vision for the metaverse and presence is fundamentally social,” Zuckerberg said, according to a transcript of remarks posted by tech news website The Verge.